The Second Semester of the Sisterhood
by melonbar92
Summary: The sequel to The Sisterhood of the Nail Polish Stained Pants. Zoey, Nicole, Dana, and Quinn find themselves lost in mystery, romance, sadness, and a little bit of cotton candy.
1. Let's Start Again

Last semester, Quinn had created a pair of pants that were… well, magic. They had been designed to fit her, Zoey, Nicole, and Dana all perfectly and after discovering these jeans, the girls named themselves the Sisterhood of the Nail Polish Stained Pants. They had many exciting and sad times in the Pants. Quinn and Zoey had both received their first kiss and Dana had at long last gotten together once again with Logan. Unfortunately, while Quinn and Dana had a happy ending to their first semester, Zoey and Nicole did not. Zoey's relationship with Chase was short and didn't progress while Nicole dealt with learning about her mother's cancer and had to make the difficult choice of leaving PCA to help raise money for her mother's surgery. Now, as the girls enter their second semester of the year, they will share the Pants once again and discover more about themselves and start a whole new chapter of their lives.

* * *

"Welcome to the Coconut Tree House, may I take your order?"

Zoey Brooks stood over a table crowded with people with a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. She was sore all over, she was exhausted, and most of all, she was tired of working as a waitress at the Coconut Tree House which was always crowded with demanding and rude people.

"I'd like to have… uh… a hamburger."

"What kind of hamburger would you like?"

"Um… there's more than one kind?"

"We have the Super Duper Hamburger and the Hero Burger and the…"

"Um… can you come back again in a couple of minutes? This might take awhile for us to figure out what KIND of hamburgers we want. I mean, we want a simple thing like hamburgers and then you make it all complicated. Waitresses these days… they have no idea what they're doing!"

Zoey clenched her teeth and reminded herself of the number one rule when it came to any kind of job that served people. The customer is always right. She simply nodded her head and walked off to grab another table's order. After another painful hour in the tree house, her shift was over. She ran to the back room and changed out of her outfit. She grabbed her purse and quickly hurried out the restaurant.

The cool March air blew into her face. She glanced at her watch. She was glad that she had gotten an early shift that day. It was only 2:00 and she had time to go to her dorm and finish her homework before her class started at 3:00. She started to walk quicker, to keep herself warm. The sun was up high, but the wind was cold which made everything have an icy appearance.

As she walked, Zoey started to think. There were many upcoming events such as Nicole's sixteenth birthday. She sighed a little sad sigh as she thought of how terrible it was that Nicole wouldn't be at PCA to celebrate her sweet sixteenth. She imagined what Nicole was doing at that very moment. She figured she was working away to earn money for her mother. Zoey felt awful. She wished she could help her in some way. But what could she do about it?

* * *

"I wish they could help in some way, but what can they do about it?"

Nicole Bristow was talking to herself as she mowed Mrs. Watson's lawn. She wished that her friends from PCA were there to help her or assure her that things would turn out ok, but t hey weren't. She was all alone and she had to be independent. Due to the fact that she was only fifteen, Nicole couldn't get a real job so she started doing a few odd jobs such as walking dogs and baby sitting and… mowing lawns! It didn't pay much, but every penny counted. Nicole didn't go to school anymore, but got taught by her dad for a few hours each day. It wasn't a very good way to live her young life, but she had to do what she had to do.

"Are you almost done with that lawn, Nicole?"

Mrs. Watson stepped out of her house to see the progress.

"Totally Mrs. Watson… I'm almost finished."

"Then come in for some lemonade won't you?"

Nicole stopped mowing and grinned. "That'd be great."

* * *

Quinn Pensky took a sip of lemonade as she waited for Michael Barret, her official boyfriend, to arrive. She sat at a table in the student lounge with her Science textbook out. The couple had made it a tradition that they do Science homework together every day at 3:00. Then he would walk to her class and they'd have to depart.

Quinn glanced at her watch. Michael was running late. She frowned. He was never late. Well, hardly ever, unless he had a good excuse. She tapped her fingers on the table, feeling worried and slightly frustrated. The clock ticked and ten minutes passed. She started on her homework without him. A half hour passed by and he still didn't come. She finished her homework and glanced at her watch again. _I hope nothing bad happened to him. _

She hopped out of her chair and headed to class. She would call him later to see if he was alright.

* * *

_Ring, ring, ring._

Dana Cruz answered her cell phone on the third ring. She had the whole day off so she had no classes. To celebrate this fact, she had gone shopping for some new clothes. She stood outside the shopping mall, with plenty of bags in hand. She had her sunglasses on even though it wasn't summer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dana, it's me."

"Logan!"

Logan Reese, Dana's boyfriend, had just recently quit smoking and was constantly calling her when he felt an urge to pull out a cigarette. The two of them would talk until his temptations went away. Of course, Dana's phone bill was enormous but her parents helped pay for it so it was ok for her.

"We have to talk."

"Okay, go ahead."

Dana put her shopping bags down for a second so she could readjust the way she was holding her purse. As she did, she could hear Logan taking deep breaths on the other line. "What's wrong?" she asked. Just then, a person went rushing right by her, knocking her off her feet. She fell to the ground, the cell phone skittering from her hand. She groaned and scrambled up to her feet. She scooped her phone off and brushed the dust off of it. She looked around and realized with horror that the person who had ran by her had stolen her shopping bags.

"Logan, I'll call you later."

"Wait- what happened? Dana?"

"Bye, Logan."

She flipped her cell phone shut and shoved it into her purse. Then she ran after the person in the direction he or she had run. After awhile of chasing, she realized that it was hopeless. Her shopping bags were gone with the wind. She stood there, feeling in shock and wondering why in the world someone would want to steal a shopping bag from her when they had no idea what was inside.


	2. Beep

_Dear Zoey,_

_Hi, it's me. Chase… Chase Matthews. You know the guy you could have gone out with? The guy who completely messed up any possible chance of a relationship with you? I'm really sorry, Zoey, I want to make it up to you. Will you please meet me in the student lounge at ten past eight? We've really got to talk and work things out. Thanks. _

_Love…I mean… Sincerely_

_Chase _

* * *

Nicole stared dreamily at the outfit displayed in the shop window. Oh, how she wanted that outfit! It would look so good on her. She had to try it on. She opened the door to the store, making the bell ring. A blast of air conditioner hit her in the face. A person who worked at the store quickly rushed up to her and said, "Hi there, miss. How may I help you today?"

"I'd like to try on that outfit displayed in the window."

"I'll get that for you right away."

Nicole headed for the dressing rooms. The person who worked at the store came over and gave her the outfit. "By the way," she said. "My name is Betsy. Just call me if you need anymore assistance." She smiled and led Nicole into a free dressing room. Then she went off to do whatever she had to do.

Nicole quickly changed into the outfit and gazed at herself in the mirror. She looked… well, great. The faded pink knee length skirt that flared out swished around when she twirled and the white belt with the star buckle was sheer perfection. The light, cloudy blue shirt was made to be baggy and had long sleeves that made her look some what taller. She sighed and wished she could buy this dear outfit. She checked the price and her eyes grew wide. _It's only this much? I can totally afford this! _

She quickly changed out of the outfit and hurried out of the dressing room to buy it. Then she remembered why she had so much money in the first place. Her face fell and she looked down at the clothes she held in her arms. Then she sighed and walked up to Betsy. "Here you go. Thanks for letting me try it on."

"You're not buying it?" Betsy asked.

Nicole shook her head sadly. "No, I'm not."

Betsy studied Nicole face and a gentle smile crossed her face. "How about I keep this outfit on hold for you? You know, just in case you change your mind."

Nicole immediately brightened up. "You'd do that for me?"

Betsy nodded. "Sure, why not? I'll save it for you for a week."

* * *

"Who could have stolen it?"

"I don't know…"

"I mean, who would want to steal a shopping bag?"

"Maybe because…"

"I mean, WHY? Maybe they have a plot to kill me and-"

"DANA, WILL YOU LISTEN?"

Dana stopped pacing around the room long enough to stare at Logan. He was sitting cross legged on her bed, looking extremely irritated. She sighed and went to go sit down next to him. "Sorry, Logan… it's just that I'm so upset that… anyways, that's no reason for me to ignore you. Go ahead, tell me what you think."

Logan took a deep breath. "I think that…" He hesitated and looked away from her.

"What?"

Logan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he turned and stared Dana right in the eye, opened his mouth, then turned away. Now she was the one getting irritated. She stood up and crouched down right in front of him, grabbing his shoulders so he couldn't turn away from her. "What?"

Logan mumbled something, but Dana didn't hear. "What?"

"I think we should…" His voice trailed off.

"What?"

"…"

"WHAT?"

"I think we should break up."

* * *

_Hi, this is Michael! Leave a message after the beep. _

"Um, hi Michael, it's Quinn. I was just wondering why you didn't show up at the student lounge at the usual time today? I was waiting for you and… well you probably had some stuff to do, but just phone me! I was worried about you and well… yeah… okay then, bye… I'll talk to you later I guess?"

_Beep._

"Michael? It's Quinn. It's just that… um… what's up? I miss you…"

_Beep._

"Michael, for gosh sakes, call me back!"

_Beep,_

"Michael? Sorry for sort of raising my voice in the last message… just wanted to apologize…"

_Beep._

"Doo doo doo doo… dun dun dun da da dun da da dun…."

_Beep._

"Sorry about that last message."

_Beep._

"Okay, the day's almost over and I haven't seen or heard from you ONCE. I'm going to your room right now to see if you're ok. Okay?"

_Beep._

"Okay… I'm not going to your room right now. My experiment just exploded and I have to clean it up before going to bed. So tomorrow! I'm going to your room tomorrow to see if you're ok. Okay?"


	3. Inside the Shopping Bag

**Hey… it's me again! I just wanted to say that you guys rock for reading and reviewing the sequel to Sisterhood of the Nail Polish Stained Pants. I really appreciate it! I'm trying to update as frequently as possible so I hope I'm doing an ok job at that. Also, to answer a question, no, I don't love disappointing my reviewers, not at all. There's a reason for everything I write and none of it is written to make you upset or angry so I'm really sorry if I did do that! Anyways, I'm sure you want to find out what happens with everyone so I won't bore you any longer **

* * *

"What…?"

"It's nothing personal, it's just that…"

Dana stared at Logan, her mind frozen. She was unable to think or grasp on to the words that had just slipped out of his mouth. No sooner had they gotten together did he want to break up again. Why? What possible reason could there be? Had she done something wrong? What had she done? Whatever it was, she could make it better. She just had to stay loyal to him. That was all…

"I think it'd be best if we took a break."

"But… why?"

Logan looked away. Her eyes were burning into his skin and he couldn't take the pressure of it. He had to tell her though. How could he keep it from her? The only way he could protect her was to break her heart. He felt tears tickle his eyes so he quickly put his head down and said, "Sorry, Dana. It's just the way it has to be." Then he stood up and ran out of the room.

Dana sat on the bed, stunned. She sat there for a long time. Minutes ticked by, then hours, and then night time came. She just sat there, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. Her face was rather pale and then all of a sudden, she just collapsed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. She didn't cry that night. She had done too much crying before. This time she would solve things logically.

* * *

Zoey re-read Chase's letter for the hundredth time as she walked to her math class. She couldn't stop thinking about him. She had broken up with him because things had gotten too complicated, but now she wasn't sure. On one hand, she still liked him a lot, but on the other, she wasn't sure if she was ready to get caught in the tangle of emotions.

Lost in her thoughts, Zoey didn't notice how fast she was walking and ending up running right into Quinn. The two girls both lost balance and fell to the ground, their bags thumping down beside them. Quinn's glasses skittered off and Zoey quickly picked them up. The two girls stood up, brushing themselves off.

"Sorry about that," Zoey apologized. "I was lost in thought."

"So was I," Quinn admitted. "I haven't seen or heard from Michael in ages. I think he might be avoiding me, but why would he do that?" The two of them picked up their bags and started walking together. Quinn continued to talk about Michael and Zoey continued to think about Chase. The two boys had the girls' heads reeling.

Just then a fellow classmate, Tammy Ale, walked up to them, holding a shopping bag. She smiled and said, "Hey guys. Have you seen Dana?" When they both shook their heads she said, "Oh well, if you see her can you give this to her?" She held the shopping bag out and Zoey took it.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I found the bag on the street," Tammy said. "I looked inside and there was a pair of pants that had her name on it so I figured it belonged to her." She glanced at her watch. "Hey, I'll see you two later. I've got to get to class." She waved and hurried off, leaving Zoey and Quinn with the shopping bag. They both exchanged glances and pulled the pants out of it.

Quinn gasped. It was the Pants. After first semester had ended, all four of the girls had written their name on the Pants and something memorable. And there, in bold red letters, was the name DANA CRUZ. Zoey frowned as she folded the pants and stuffed them back into the bag.

"Why," Zoey said, asking a question that Quinn was also thinking about. "Would Dana leave the Pants, something that's so dear and important to all of us, in a shopping bag on a street?"

They stood there, thinking. Then the bell rang and they went to class. They would talk to Dana about it later.

* * *

After working, Nicole would come back to the store every day to see her outfit. Betsy had become a close friend of hers and after her shift the two of them would go out for some juice or take a walk in the park. One day, when Nicole came to the store, Betsy wasn't there. Instead there was an incredibly cute boy. His name was Josh.

"Hi, I'm Josh," said the incredibly cute boy.

"Where's Betsy?" Nicole asked, although at the moment she didn't care where Betsy was.

"She had a family emergency to take care of," Josh said, smiling, showing his perfectly square white teeth. "I'm filling in for her." He studied Nicole's face and said, "You're Nicole Bristow, right? Betsy told me that you came every day. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet me too," Nicole said her eyes glazed over. She took Josh's extended hand and shook it, feeling her heart pound faster. She was taking snapshots in her head so she would never forget what he looked like. His dark hair that fell into his hazel coloured eyes so softly… his fair skin and his strong jaw… and his teeth! Oh my gosh, his teeth were just beautiful. Nicole could stare all day at them… but, of course, she wouldn't.

Nicole spent hours at the store. Josh continued to assist her while getting other store employees to help the other customers. Nicole was thrilled at the prospect of having a hot guy around her. It had been ages since this had happened. After his shift was over, he invited her to a nearby restaurant for some lunch. Of course, she accepted.


	4. Walk on the Beach

"Dana, are you in here? I have to ask you…"

Zoey walked into room 101 to discover that it was empty. Sighing, she dumped her bag on the floor and collapsed on her bed. _Oh well, I'll just have to ask her about the Pants in the shopping bag later. _Rolling over on to her stomach, Zoey closed her eyes. She felt exhausted and completely wiped out. She wasn't sure why, but soon she felt a heavy sleep covering her like a blanket. She wasn't sure how long she slept, but when she awoke, the room was dark and Dana was asleep in her bed.

_Looks like I slept all day and I'll be awake all night. I hope I don't turn nocturnal. _Zoey stood up and stretched her arms and legs. She glanced at her watch. It was nearing 9:30. She couldn't go back to sleep now. Not when she was so full of energy. Glancing out the window, Zoey caught sight of the beach. It looked so relaxing with the waves gently hitting the shore like a butterfly landing delicately on a flower. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She felt like being a rebel and going out past curfew. Giggling silently to herself, she grabbed her coat and tiptoed out the room.

Sneaking out of the school was easy, but it still made Zoey's stomach flip whenever she heard small noises. Once she was outside, the cool wind whipped at her face and blew her hair back. She loved the feeling of the wind. She started to run towards the beach, her feet pounding against the ground. She stopped running when she reached the sandy parts. She took her shoes and socks off and held them in her hands as she walked along the shore. The waves washed over her feet with every step she took. Then she saw it. Actually, she saw him. Chase was walking along the shore and he was heading right toward her.

Something in her mind was telling her to run. But she couldn't. Her feet were rooted to the spot and Chase, who had seen her, was making his way ever so slowly towards her. Then she realized what he was doing. He was giving her time to turn away from him. That's what she should have done, but she didn't. She continued walking towards him and he continued walking towards her. When they met he said a single word that broke the heavy silence between them.

"Hey."

Zoey was shaking all over, but she managed to put on a confident smile. "Hey," she said. Her voice came out gentle yet strong and then suddenly, she felt him take her hand. She looked at him, confusing written on her face. He looked at her too, but not with confidence. His smile was uncertain and he looked a bit frightened of what was going to happen.

"Zoey," he said. "I'm sorry." He loosened his grip on her hand so if she wanted to leave, she could. Without thinking, Zoey held on to Chase's hand tightly, her fingers clutching his. He looked surprised and relieved at the same time. Zoey looked at him and felt her heart pounding in her ears. She desperately hoped her hands weren't as sweaty as she thought they were.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

Chase looked at her, frowning. "Why should I forgive you," he said. "When you didn't do anything wrong?" He was starting to feel a little nervous now. Zoey's hand in his was making him feel a little dizzy.

"For avoiding you for so long," Zoey answered quietly.

The words that slipped out of their mouth that night were carried out into the ocean. After walking along the shore for awhile longer they put their socks and shoes on and headed back toward the school. They didn't talk a lot, but they didn't let go of each others hands. They tiptoed back into the school and headed for their dorm rooms. Before leaving, they both looked at each other with a new spark in their eyes. They felt as if they had been reborn into something greater and stronger.

"Thanks Zoey."

"Thanks Chase."

They both reluctantly let go of each others hands and headed for their rooms. Zoey felt as if she had just lived a scene out of a movie. It didn't seem really. She quickly pinched herself in the arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming. No, she wasn't. By the time she reached room 101 she was shaking all over. She felt so light and happy and… well, good. She opened the door with her key and quietly closed it behind her. Then she fell on to her bed and smiled at the ceiling. A single thought rushed through her head. _Wow._

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_I like Josh._

_Josh is nice._

_I like Josh a lot._

_I like Josh more than a lot._

_Josh is hot._

_Josh is cute._

_Josh has nice teeth._

_I love Josh._

_I LOVE JOSH!_

_Oh my gosh, diary, I think I have a crush on Josh! What do you think? That would be like way too weird though, wouldn't it? I feel so guilty because I can't fall in love with a boy when my mom is sick! I mean I can't just like forget about her. Unless I fall in love, but I DON'T forget about her! How can I work this out? Wait! I have a brilliant idea. I'll get a job at the store so then I can be near Josh and still make money for my mom. Gosh Nicole, you're like SUCH a genius! Thank you, Nicole, I appreciate it. No problem, Nicole, you deserve it! Tomorrow, I'm going to work with Josh!_

* * *

"Where did you find this?"

Dana was standing in front of her full length mirror, wearing a black t-shirt and the Pants. Quinn had just brought them over to her and explained the entire story, hoping to get more detail. But all Dana could say was 'where did you find this?' and then Quinn would have to explain the story all over again.

"Wow, so the person whole stole my bag just left it on the sidewalk?" Dana mused. She sighed with relief. "That's good. I thought the Pants were gone for good."

"Why were the Pants inside the shopping bag anyways?" Quinn asked.

Dana sighed and collapsed on her bed. Since Nicole had left, their bunk bed had been sent to another room and Dana had gotten a single bed. It was comfortable, but it just wasn't the same. "I went shopping wearing the Pants. Then I bought a new pair of jeans and I changed into those and put the Pants in the shopping bag. Then someone stole it and I thought I lost it for good, but then Tammy-" She stopped and sat up so fast that Quinn yelped in surprise.

"What?"

"How did Tammy get the shopping bag again?"

Realizing what Dana was trying to say, Quinn said slowly, "She found it on the sidewalk…"

Dana rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah right. How many days do you go along and find a shopping bag on the sidewalk?"

Quinn frowned. "Maybe…"

"Come on," Dana said, scrambling to her feet. "We're going to go investigate."


	5. Tick Tock

**Sorry for the long wait everyone. But since it's nearing Christmas, I've been busy shopping and wrapping presents and taping things together. How are you guys going to spend your Christmas? Tell me all about it in your reviews! **

* * *

Dana willed herself not to cry herself every night when she went to sleep. She was tearing herself apart thinking about Logan, but she wouldn't let anyone know how broken her heart felt. She sighed and rolled over in her bed, feeling as if a heavy boulder had landed on her shoulders. Besides trying to find out the mystery of who stole the Pants (which were now in Quinn's possession at the moment) Dana had been trying as hard as she could to try and find out why Logan had broken up with her.

She was just about to fall asleep when there was a knock on the door. Dana's eyes twitched open. Zoey was fast asleep in her bed so she decided to go answer the door herself. She slipped out of bed and stumbled across the room. She opened the door to see a small package sitting at the doorstep. She picked it up and shook it.

Then she realized it was making ticking sounds.

She knew it was silly, but she felt scared anyways. Was it a bomb? She rushed over to Zoey's bed and shook her friend awake. Zoey lifted her head sleepily off her pillow. "What?" she grumbled. Dana stuck the box under her nose.

"Look," she whispered frantically. "It's ticking!"

"What is it?" Zoey asked her eyes half closed.

"I don't know, that's what I want you to find out for me," Dana said. She was much too frightened to open the ticking box herself. Ever since she was little, Dana had been terrified of bombs and even the slightest hint of them sent her flying off the handle. "Please, Zoey, open the package."

Zoey, too sleepy to argue, took the package from Dana and opened it. Inside was a clock. It was green and had two black hands, one longer than the other. There was also a note inside. Dana frowned and picked up the note, carefully reading it out loud.

"Time is ticking, Dana Cruz," she read, her voice shaking. "Stop hanging around Logan- no; stop THINKING about Logan if you want to leave peacefully." She stopped reading and blinked. She was too scared to think. What could this note mean? "Zoey, what do you-"

Dana looked down and realized that Zoey had fallen asleep.

* * *

Quinn was sad.

She was for the obvious reason that she hadn't seen Michael in ages. Longer than ages in fact. She wondered if he had gone on a trip without telling her. She was anxious to find out. She pulled her cell phone out again and started to dial his number when she saw it.

Her finger was just hovering above a button when she saw him.

And her.

Saw him with her.

Saw him kissing her.

Quinn couldn't believe her eyes. She saw Michael- _her _Michael, kissing another girl. Who was this girl? She felt tears sting her eyes. She couldn't believe it. She REFUSED to believe it in fact. She turned away, but then she looked back and saw that the girl he was kissing was none other than Tammy Ale, the one who had returned the shopping bag.

* * *

"Sure, we had a free opening anyway. You're hired."

Nicole's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Josh had just hired her to work at the store! She could barely contain her excitement. "What? Are you serious? Thank you so much and… oh my gosh, what should I do first? Should I organize some clothes or should I take a phone call or…"

Josh laughed. "First things first," he said. "Calm down!"

Nicole nodded her head vigorously. She felt so happy… so surprised! She hadn't felt this way in ages. Maybe Josh, the boy of her dreams, would help her feel this way every day from now on. Maybe. Just maybe, she had found the key to happiness.

* * *

**Sorry for the really short chapter. I promise longer, detailed, and BETTER chapters in the New Year! My birthday is on the 26th of December (turning 13 :O) and from the 27th to the 30th I'm going on a camping trip so I won't be seeing you all until 2006. Well, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS!**


	6. Daydreaming

**Hey all :) I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Any special presents you got? Have you added to your memory scrapbooks? Anyways, I just wanted to thank you all for reading my story even though in my opinion it's not very good. Actually, I think that this sequel is really bad compared to the first one so I will TRY MY BEST (not guaranteeing or anything ;;) to make this story as enjoyable as possible. Peace out :)**

* * *

Zoey sat in her History class, taking notes on some dead Queen that she didn't care about. If it was any other day but that day, she would have been listening intently and scribbling away until it felt like her hand would fall off. But no, that day her mind had flown elsewhere, some place far away. And that place was called 'The Zoey Brooks and Chase Matthews Heaven'. She had been slowly building upon that heavenly place since she had first started liking him. When they had gotten together for a brief time before, her heaven had been complete with a large castle and everything. But when they had split apart, her palace had come crumbling down. Now that they were back together again, she was glad to say, 'The Zoey Brooks and Chase Matthews Heaven' was almost nearing completion again.

"Miss Zoey Brooks, would you please come down from Mars?"

A long meter stick was slammed down on her desk and Zoey bolted out of her fantasies. She looked up to see her History teacher glaring down at her. Zoey smiled sheepishly and murmured a quick apology before turning her attention back to the dead rulers of before. She found herself listening for a short time and then… she started to dream again.

_Our wedding will be outside, _Zoey thought, picturing a long aisle with chairs surrounding it. _There'll be flowers. Lots of flowers. Pink, red, orange… lots in every colour. Nicole will be at the wedding. Her mom will be too when she gets healed completely. And so will Dana and Quinn. And Logan and Michael and our families of course… Dustin can be the ring bearer. Chase would look so handsome in a tuxedo. He'd have a bow and everything. And I'd march down the aisle with Daddy, wearing the most gorgeous wedding dress anyone had ever seen. It'll be long and white with a lace trimming and…_

The meter stick was brought down on her desk once more, this time so hard that it snapped cleanly in two. Zoey shrunk down in her seat and smiled at the teacher. "Um… sorry. I was listening. Really… I was…"

Once the teacher had walked away, she reached into her pencil case and pulled out one of her favourite pencils. Then she slipped a blank piece of paper out of her binder and started to sketch out her wedding dress. Her hand was flying across the page like crazy and if someone had glanced over at her, whether it be a nosy student or the History teacher, they would have thought she was extremely interested in dead Queens indeed.

* * *

Nicole walked home that day, feeling extremely light and happy. Her first day working had been a success. She had managed to help several customers and Josh had smiled at her so many times that her stomach had knotted itself about a thousand times. She took her house key out of her pocket, unable to contain her excitement. She wondered what her parents would say when she told them about her wonderful day.

She swung the front door open and yelled, "I'm home!" She waited for a response, but none came. She took off her coat and dropped it on the ground, suddenly feeling extremely nervous. She ran up the stairs, yelling, "I'm home! Mom? Dad? Where are you? I'm home! I'm home!"

She ran all around the house and finally stopped in the kitchen where she saw a note taped to the fridge. With trembling hands she tore the note off the fridge and read it. Then she re-read it. Then she re-read it again. And again. And again. When she had finished reading it for the hundredth time she collapsed to the ground and started to shake all over.

_Nicole,_

_Your mother had a sudden heart attack. I had to take her to the hospital right away. I'll call you in a bit to see how you are. _

_Dad_

* * *

Dana was extremely freaked out by the fact that someone had sent her a clock bomb in the middle of the night. She had dressed extremely hastily that morning and her hair had not even been combed. She ate a soggy cereal for breakfast and then she had floated to class as if she was not really there. It was only until lunch that she really came to her senses.

She was picking at her sandwich when Tammy Ale walked up to her and sat down across from her, folding her hands on top of the table. Dana glanced up at her. "Hi," she said stiffly, not sure of what else to say.

"Hi," Tammy said hesitantly. She paused and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm just going to get right to the point. I sent you the clock."

Dana dropped her sandwich. "Sorry, what? I didn't hear you."

"I sent the clock," Tammy said, her eyes fixed on Dana's face.

"Wha… why?" Dana could barely think, let alone speak.

"Because I want you to stay away from Logan!" Tammy yelled. Then she stood up, pushing her chair back so far that it fell over on to its back. "Don't even go near him if you don't want your life to be a living hell."

Dana stared at Tammy as she walked away, nose up in the air. She was unsure of what to feel. She didn't really feel anything. And then her emotions hit her all at once, almost making her tip backwards. She dropped her head on the table and stared at the ground, almost frozen. Then she cried.

* * *

Quinn walked right up to Michael and slapped him in the face.

She had been looking for him all morning and she had finally found him in the library, looking through some cook books. Without thinking, without even remembering the 5 page long speech she had written the night before, she just marched up to him and let her hand fly through the air and make contact with his cheek.

Michael dropped the book he was holding in shock. "What was that for?" he exclaimed, clutching his burning cheek.

"For everything," Quinn said coldly. Then she turned around and started to walk out of the library when Michael grabbed her arm.

"I can explain, Quinn," he said. "I…"

"Don't TOUCH ME," Quinn yelled. A few people in the library turned to stare with their eyebrows raised. Quinn grabbed Michael's arm and bit him once hard making him yell out in extreme pain. She quickly ran out of the library, her braids flying behind her as she did.


	7. Drowning My Sorrows

_Dear Nicole,_

_Hi. I'm sorry I didn't send you a letter sooner. Logan broke up with me and now this freak, Tammy Ale (do you remember her?) is out to get me if I don't stay away from the one boy I truly love. I mean, loved. I can't love him anymore because he doesn't love me back. Anyway, I'm sorry to depress you during your hard times. How is your mom doing? PCA isn't the same without you. I hope the Pants will bring you better luck than they brought me. Love you._

_-Dana_

* * *

Quinn's cell phone had been ringing all day. It had started to annoy her so much that she had taken out the battery and shoved her phone inside a plastic container she had used previously to hold some chocolate chip cookies. Michael had been calling her continuously, leaving message after message, trying to contact her. Quinn was too furious to speak to him, let alone see him. She couldn't believe he had done what he had done and she didn't want to know why, either. All she wanted was to never see that boy again.

Quinn walked around like a ghost for the rest of the day, only half there. She wasn't as observant as she usually was and her eyes were glazed over behind her glasses. For the first time in her life, she was experiencing a terrible heartbreak. She didn't know her heart was slowly shattering away, but soon she would.

After her last class of the day, Quinn was heading for her dorm room when someone grabbed her arm. She turned around and saw Michael staring at her with pleading eyes. She felt a strong urge to push him backwards and run away, but she kept her eyes locked on his. He pulled her forward a little bit and said, "Please. Can we talk?"

She knew she should have said no. She knew she should have refused to speak to him until she was ready. But the other side of her brain, the one that was mentally ill in her opinion, told her to talk to him. Maybe he had a good reason for kissing another girl. The boy she loved stared at her, asking her to talk and she accepted. The two of them walked out the school and headed for the beach where they sat on the sand with their legs stretched out, the waves lapping up on to the shore.

"Look, Quinn," Michael said quietly. "I'm… sorry."

"Why, Michael?" Quinn said, almost whispering. She turned to stare at him with large, round eyes. "Why did you do this to me? Why were you kissing Tammy Ale and why haven't you been answering my calls for such a long time? Why, Michael? Are you trying to break my heart?"

Michael looked down at the sand, unable to speak for a second. Then he let out a quiet reply. "Sorry, Quinn… but… I don't know. Tammy came on to me and…"

"And…?" Quinn said, staring at the side of his face, her entire body shaking.

"And I felt like she was The One," Michael murmured. "And I felt like… she was so exciting and you…" Now he stared directly into Quinn's eyes and said something that made her know for sure that her heart had shattered completely. "You didn't matter to me anymore, Quinn."

Before the words had even fully departed from his lips, Quinn heard the shatter of her heart. The pain made her feel limp and almost as if she was dead. She wanted to be dead. She wasn't sure why she was still living. What purpose could she have to live anymore? She looked away from Michael, hoping his words were all lies and she hadn't heard what she had actually heard.

"Sorry, Quinn," Michael said, his eyes wet. Then he stood up and left her alone.

She sat there for who knows how long. She couldn't move. She didn't want to move. She wanted to die right there on that very spot. The sensible side of her brain was telling her to get up and pick up the broken pieces of her heart and put them back together. But why should she? Even if she did put her heart back together, who would be there to fill it?

Quinn lay down on the sand and closed her eyes. Tears started running down her face and she started crying. Her eyes started to get red and she couldn't breathe anymore. She coughed and sputtered and cried, wanting to be dead, wanting to throw herself into the ocean and be as shattered and broken as her heart. But she knew she couldn't do that to herself no matter how heartbroken she was. She couldn't… she couldn't… But maybe she could.

* * *

Zoey couldn't sleep. She just kept thinking about Chase and she decided she needed to clear her head. She crept out of bed and silently opened the door so she wouldn't wake up Dana. She put her shoes on and headed out the building. She walked toward the beach, the wind whipping her hair back. She started to jog. Once she reached the sandy area, she took her shoes off and started walking barefoot, holding her shoes by the laces.

That's when she saw her.

Zoey squinted in the moonlight and saw a dim figure of a girl walking into the ocean. She wasn't sure she recognized who she was at first, but then she realized it was Quinn. Zoey was just about to call out to her when she decided instead to surprise her by creeping up on her. She started tiptoeing toward her when something made her stop.

Quinn was continuing to walk into the ocean, her eyes straight ahead. Tears were running down her cheeks as she walked deeper and deeper into the water. Zoey was watching with wide eyes, wondering what in the world Quinn was doing. Quinn took a deep breath as a wave hit her chest, making her stumble. Then, suddenly, she was gone. Her entire head disappeared under the water.

Zoey stared at the spot where Quinn had disappeared for a moment. And then it struck her like lightning striking a tree. She realized what Quinn was doing and she felt herself starting to shake. "Quinn?" she called out into the air. Then, tears about to burst out of her eyes, she started running. "QUINN! QUINN!"

Zoey ran into the ocean, screaming her lungs out. "QUINN! QUINN!" She dove into the water her eyes open as she looked for her friend. She had to be somewhere- anywhere! Zoey swam farther away from shore, searching for Quinn. She swam up to the surface to get some air. "QUINN!" she yelled into the night. "QUINN!"

She looked frantically around and then dove back under. The salt water stung her eyes and she was just about to swim back up when she spotted Quinn's body at the sandy bottom of the ocean. Zoey rose back up to shore, took a gulp of air, and then dove back down. Her arms were outstretched and she grabbed Quinn's body and started to head back up when she realized that Quinn had a belt of rocks tied around her waist so she would sink when in the water.

Zoey was starting to run out of air and Quinn was too heavy to lift back up Frantically, Zoey pulled at the belt of rocks until it came loose. She let it sink to the bottom and she started to swim up, up, up, with Quinn in her arms. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it. Her legs and arms were getting heavy and Quinn was already so limp that… Zoey felt like her lungs were going to explode. She was just about ready to give up when her head broke through the surface. She took great gasps for air and looked at Quinn who still had her eyes closed. Panicking, Zoey swam toward the shore, pulling Quinn along with her. Once she had reached the sandy, dry area, she laid Quinn down and started to scream.

"Quinn!" she cried. "Quinn! Please tell me you're alright. Quinn, please speak to me! Somebody, help!" But no one was there to help. It was the middle of the night and help was impossible when no one was around. Zoey did everything she could to get Quinn to wake up again, but nothing worked and soon she started crying. She cried, holding on to Quinn's hands and she cried as she lifted Quinn up on to her back and she cried as she knocked on the door of the nurse's room to seek help.

* * *

Logan lay in bed, staring at the photograph of Dana he held in his hand. Looking at her made him sad. He wanted to hold her so badly n his arms. He wanted to be with her every second of his life, but he knew it was impossible. He closed his eyes and tried to remember as clearly as he could, the words of Tammy Ale.

"_Logan, I like you," Tammy said timidly. "W-will you go out with me?"_

"_Oh…" Logan said, looking around a little awkwardly. "Um… sorry, but I'm already going out with Dana. You know Dana? Dana Cruz? The great looking girl with-"_

"_I know her," Tammy interrupted coldly. "And frankly, I don't see much in her. Logan, to tell you the truth, I wasn't really expecting you to say yes when I asked you if we could date. But I do want you to stop seeing Dana. I don't think she deserves you at all. You can do better, can't you?"_

_Logan was shocked. "Don't say those things about Dana!" he yelled angrily._

_Tammy rolled her eyes. "Okay, Logan. I warned you. If Dana doesn't stop hanging around you, some pretty bad things are going to start happening to her." Tammy grinned evilly and cracked her knuckles. "And trust me- when I say bad, I mean bad." With those words she turned and left, leaving Logan stunned and rooted to the spot._

Logan didn't like the idea of Dana getting hurt in anyway. He had many options to choose and one of them was to protect Dana and still be with her. The other was to break up with her and insure that Tammy wouldn't hurt her. The first choice seemed like a bad one because Tammy was a very sneaky girl and had ways to get to people's minds even if they had a billion security guards. So hesitantly, with his heart breaking as he did so, he had broken up with Dana in hopes that she would be safe.

But now he felt as if he had made the wrong decision. He missed Dana so much that he would give anything just to be with her right now. He sighed and rolled over on to his stomach the photograph of Dana lying just in front of his nose. He wanted to hug her again and kiss her and… He suddenly sat up and grabbed his jacket. He was going to go see Dana right that very minute. He quickly grabbed his key and ran out of the room, slamming the door and waking Chase and Michael.


	8. Jigsaw Puzzle

Nicole stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, examining the dark bags under her eyes. Her hair was messy and tangled and she didn't feel like picking up a brush and making it all nice and pretty again. She sighed and slowly tied her hair into a ponytail, washed her face with hot water one last time, and then left for work.

She had received the Pants in the mail just the other day. She was filled with happiness to see them, but also with sorrow. The Pants made her remember how much she missed her 'sisters' and how much she longed for her mother to get better. Nicole's mother was still in the hospital and her father spent most of his time by her side. Nicole wanted to be with her mother as well, but her father told her that the best way she could help was to earn that money.

Nicole walked to work that day, wearing the Pants and feeling a heavy dread in her heart. She felt like just as everything was going her way, something terrible would happen and spoil her fun. The thought of that made her frown and want to burst into tears, but she had to be strong. She had to stay strong for herself and everyone else around her. She took deep breaths of air and entered the shop where she found a surprise waiting for her.

Betsy was back from her emergency. She looked absolutely exhausted and worn out, but nonetheless she greeted Nicole with a smile. She stretched her arms out and Nicole rushed to her to give her a hug.

"Wow, it's been ages," she said, smiling wearily. "How have you been?"

"I've been…" Nicole's voice trailed off. She was uncertain how to answer. She just lowered her eyes and changed the subject instead. "How have you been doing? What was the family emergency you had to deal with?"

Betsy sighed and stretched her arms out. "My grandmother has been very sick so we all had to attend to her." She smiled sadly. "She passed away yesterday."

Nicole could feel her heart crumple for her friend. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Betsy quickly turned away so Nicole could not see the gathering tears in her eyes. "No matter," she said, her voice cracking. "Everyone must go sometime or another. She lived a good live." She took a deep breath and wiped her tears away before facing Nicole again. "Anyways, Josh informed me that you got a job here. That's excellent! Now you'll be able to buy that outfit you admired."

"Outfit?" Nicole's mind blanked for a second before she remembered the outfit with the white belt with the star buckle. She smiled and said, "Oh Betsy, you were going to save that for me for a week. It's been past a week now and… well, I'm sorry, but I still won't be able to buy it."

"That's alright," Betsy said kindly. "Maybe some other day."

Nicole nodded and after a moment of silence she asked the question she was dying to have answered. "Um, Betsy," she said uncertainly. "If you're back then… what about Josh? Will he still be around?"

"Yes, I will," said a voice, and Nicole turned around to see Josh enter the store, smiling. Nicole felt an urge to rush toward him and give him a huge hug, but she managed to refrain herself. He walked closer and gave Betsy a quick wave of acknowledgment before turning his eyes to Nicole.

"Hi," he said. Then he looked down and saw that she was wearing the Pants. He frowned.

"What?" Nicole said, feeling scared all of a sudden.

"Your pants," he said. "They have… a huge nail polish stain on them. And there's writing all over it. What does that say? Basketball camp… I Heart Logan… I Heart Michael… Crying in the bathroom stalls… what's with those freak show pants, Nicole?"

"Josh," Betsy said, frowning. "Don't be rude."

Nicole felt as if her entire body had turned to stone. She didn't like the idea of having the one boy she truly liked making fun of the Pants. In fact, she didn't like the idea of having anybody making fun of the Pants. It was just not done. How could he?

"Excuse me," Nicole said, her voice dripping with ice. "But these Pants are-"

"Extremely weird," Josh concluded. "Yeah, I know."

Nicole was just about ready to slap Josh across the face. But then she realized that without him she wouldn't have a job at the shop and without that job she wouldn't be able to raise money for her mother's surgery. So instead, she pressed her lips together and stomped off to organize some clothes.

* * *

"Dana?" Logan called out, his voice coming out in an icy whisper. "Dana?" He knocked on the door of her dorm, hoping that he wouldn't wake up Zoey. To his relief, Dana opened the door, rubbing her eyes. When she saw him, her face became expressionless.

"Oh," she said. "It's… you."

"Dana…" he said, feeling his heart start to pound louder. "Dana I… I had to be with you."

Dana froze. "What?"

He took one step towards her. "I… had to be with you."

"Logan…" Dana glanced around to see if anyone else was watching. "You're… sleepwalking. Go back to your dorm." She started to close the door in his face when he quickly stuck his foot in so she couldn't close it.

"Dana, Tammy Ale said she'd hurt you if you didn't leave me alone," Logan said, speaking quickly. "I didn't want to see you get hurt so I had to leave you. Now I know it was stupid of me to do that and I just want to be together again because life without you… isn't life at all." He took a sharp intake of breath, realizing that those last words he had spoken were completely true and that he had never felt this way about anyone before.

Dana stared at Logan and then, all of a sudden, she crouched down and started to cry. Logan, feeling alarmed, crouched down in front of her and pulled her into a hug. She cried into his shoulder, sobbing, "You… stupid… jerk…" She took deep gasps for air and started to pound her fist on Logan's arm. "Don't you… know that… not being with you… is the most hurtful thing ever for me?"

Logan buried his head in Dana's hair and felt tears running down his face. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Zoey awoke to find herself sitting in the nurse's office, holding Quinn's hand. She looked at her friend who was lying in the 'sick people' bed, her eyes closed and her face pale. Zoey still trembled all over when she thought of how Quinn had almost committed suicide right before her very eyes.

"Quinn," Zoey whispered, her eyes feeling with tears again. "Quinn… why? Why would you do something like that, Quinn? You're the smartest girl I know, yet… for some reason, you almost let your live end in the ocean. Why, Quinn? Why?"

Quinn's eyelids started to flutter and soon she was looking at Zoey with damp eyes. "Zo…ey…?" she said, her voice hoarse and quiet. "Zo… ey? Zoey?"

"Quinn?" Zoey said, her voice lifting in hope. "Quinn? Are you… alive?" She was shaking all over and her grip on Quinn's hand tightened.

Quinn stared at Zoey with silent tears running down her face. "Zoey…" she sighed. "I'm… sorry. What I did was… stupid." The tears just kept spilling down like a waterfall. Zoey could not recall when she had seen so many tears.

"Quinn… I'm so glad you're ok," Zoey said, closing her eyes and opening them again to make sure it wasn't a dream. "Quinn…" The two girls clasped hands together in the nurse's room, tears running down their faces, just thanking God that Quinn had not died and that Zoey was there for her.

"Is there anything you need?" Zoey asked, wiping her tears away.

"Not water…" Quinn said, her face turning paler. "Orange… juice?"

"Okay, I'll be right back." Zoey smiled and let go of Quinn's hand. She left the nurse's room and hurried to the cafeteria to get some orange juice. As she made her way there, she accidentally bumped into a girl who was talking on her cell phone.

"Sorry," Zoey apologized. Just as she was about to keep walking, the girl said something that made her freeze in her tracks. Zoey turned her head slightly. The girl she had bumped into was Tammy Ale who was chattering away to her friend on the phone.

"Oh my gosh, that Michael fellow is seriously killing me," Tammy said, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, he broke up with that dweeb girlfriend of his, Quinn. Imagine that, breaking up with a girl who loved him for a girl who's only using him to get to one of his friends." Tammy laughed a horrible, cruel laugh. "Well, duh, I don't really like Michael. I'm just using him to get closer to Logan. What about Dana? Oh no, Logan broke up with her after I threatened to hurt her if she didn't leave him alone…"

The gears in Zoey's brain were spinning at a fantastic rate. She continued to walk toward the cafeteria, deep in thought. _Did Quinn try to commit suicide because Michael broke her heart? Michael broke up with her so he could be with Tammy Ale who was really just using him to get together with Logan who broke up with Dana because Tammy threatened to hurt Dana if she hung around Logan? _For Zoey, the puzzle pieces were flying together at a fantastic rate and she was almost done solving the most complicated jigsaw puzzle she had ever encountered.


	9. Following Through

_Dear Josh, _

_I did not appreciate you making fun of the Pants that I wore today. I think you should apologize…_

_Dear Josh,_

_If we were going out, it's over now. If we weren't going out, then we never will!_

_Dear Josh,_

_You SUCK. _

* * *

Zoey lay on her bed, thinking hard about Tammy Ale. Should she tell Dana and Quinn what she had heard? Would it just make them angry and confused? She wasn't sure what to do. It was too confusing.

There was a knock on the door. Zoey quickly scrambled off her bed to open it. Dana was standing on the other side, frowning.

"Lost my key," she said, smiling faintly.

Dana walked into the room. Zoey closed the door and then took a deep breath. "Dana I have something to tell you."

Dana looked over at Zoey.

* * *

Quinn lay in bed in the nurse's room, staring up at the ceiling. She was starting to feel better after a night of horrifying experiences. But she still felt ashamed. What was she going to do with herself now?

Then it hit her.

She scrambled out of bed, her head pounding as she did so. Then she ran out of the nurse's office to find a phone.

* * *

Hey all. REALLY short chapter because I'm having big writer's block on this story -- So please, if you have any ideas, SHARE THEM! Also if you have any requests share them as well. Tell me what you want to happen to all the characters and that might just happen ;) Once again, sorry for the bad chapter… the next one will be better!


	10. Leaving

Dana sat on the edge of her bed, feeling… well, stunned. Zoey had just informed her of Tammy Ale's evil plan… the plan that had made so many people miserable. Closing her eyes, she felt her heart strike against her chest faster and faster and faster… until she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and started to walk out of the room.

"Dana, where are you going?" Zoey asked, staring after her friend in concern. She didn't want anything terrible to happen- they already had their share of terrible things. Dana turned around, her fingertips touching the doorknob. She smiled reassuringly at Zoey.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to do anything stupid." She walked out of the room, leaving Zoey alone with her thoughts. She stood still for a few minutes, lost in her own world. After telling Dana about why Logan had broken up with her, the relationship between Michael and Quinn and how Quinn had tried to commit suicide, she felt worn out. Before she had explained everything it didn't seem real. But now that she had actually repeated the story with her own tongue, it felt different… as if the truth was about to swallow her up like a monster hiding under the bed.

* * *

Dana walked quickly down the hallway, staring straight ahead. Her footsteps were as loud as her beating heart and her shallow breaths. She stopped at every doorway and every classroom to see if Tammy Ale was there. She was beginning to lose hope in finding the girl who had made everyone fall apart when she saw her sitting on a couch in the student lounge, doing homework and drinking a smoothie.

Dana took one look at Tammy Ale and started to have a mixture of feelings churn in her stomach. She felt… hatred. She wanted to make Tammy Ale's life a living hell for all she was worth. She clenched her teeth and glared at the girl on the couch, her eyes burning like fierce fires. But no… no matter how much she wanted to stab Tammy in the heart with a knife, she couldn't. She would deal with things the mature way.

She walked up to Tammy Ale, snatched her homework out of her hands and ripped it up into tiny pieces. Tammy watched in utter shock and confusion as Dana shred the piece up paper, speaking loudly with each rip.

"This is for threatening to hurt me," Dana said, making a large tear in the middle of the page. "This is for bothering Logan. This is for leading Michael on." She dropped the shreds of paper to the floor and grabbed the smoothie out of Tammy Ale's hand. She took the lid off and poured the sticky contents all over Tammy's head.

"And that," Dana said, the cup that the smoothie had been held in crunching in her hand. "Is for hurting Quinn… because you know what?" She dropped the cup, making it clatter against the floor. Leaning right in front of Tammy's face she said, "Nobody hurts my friends." Then she smirked. "No, scratch that. Nobody hurts my sisters."

With those last words, Dana walked away, leaving Tammy Ale sitting there with her ripped up homework and her hair dripping with smoothie. People were gaping at her as she blinked her eyes once than twice. She was speechless.

* * *

Quinn shivered under her covers, her cell phone pressed against her ear. After several hours, she had finally mustered up enough courage to call Michael and sort things out with him. The phone rang, the ringing making chills go up her spine every time. Then she got the answering machine.

She was about to hang up when she had a sudden thought. The answering machine was good. Yes, it was good… She would leave a message. There was the familiar beeping sound and then… she began to speak.

"Michael," Quinn whispered her voice quiet and fragile. "I…" She paused. She suddenly felt a surge of power run through her body. She wouldn't apologize to Michael or plead for him to consider seeing her again. She would speak her mind. No, she would speak her heart. Her voice stronger, she spoke again. "Do you know what pain means?"

* * *

Michael was at the beach.

Tammy had called him just minutes ago. He had rushed to meet her. He had greeted her with a smile and asked how she was doing. She had given him a cold, hard look. He blinked at her, confused. Was something wrong?

"Michael," she said her voice firm and almost angry. "We're breaking up."

At that moment, he felt his world slip from his fingertips, like water. "W-what?" he stammered. "What do you mean we're-"

"It means exactly what you think," Tammy snapped harshly. "And I'd like it if we didn't talk anymore at school either." With one last look, she walked away. After Dana had torn up her homework and spilled the smoothie all over her, Tammy had realized that there was absolutely no way she could get her to stay away from Logan. So she had decided to stop the charade with Michael. She didn't care about breaking his heart. Why should he?

"Tammy!" Michael ran after her, grabbing her arm and turning her around to face him. He stared at her with pleading eyes. "Why? Can't we sort this out?"

She stared at him with no emotion in her eyes. "You don't matter to me anymore, Michael." She pulled her arm out of his grasp and walked away. This time, he didn't follow her.

Her words had stung. But they were so familiar…

They were the same words that he had spoken to Quinn. The girl who had loved him. The girl he had loved. The girl he still loved. Deep within his heart he knew he still loved her. So then why did he break her heart? He had wanted change. He wanted… Tammy Ale. He let out a shuddering sigh and collapsed on the sand. He was lying there, thinking… thinking hard. He was thinking so hard that he didn't notice his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. After a few minutes, he got up and started to walk back to school when his phone started making beeping noises.

He dug it out of his pocket and flipped it open. He had one new message. He pressed a few buttons and held the phone up to his ear, waiting and listening.

"Michael… I…"

It was Quinn. Michael felt his heart stop. Her voice sounded so weak… but then suddenly, it grew stronger as if someone had helped her stand again. He listened to the rest of the message in silence.

"Do you know what pain means? Pain… is what you gave me, Michael. You gave it to me, wrapped by your cold hands which I once thought were warm. You gave me pain on a silver platter. You gave me such large pain that I can't stand it. Did you know that? Do you know how awful I felt after you had stomped my heart into the sand? Do you know how much despair was thrown in my face after you had spit on me, tossing me away like yesterdays lunch? I don't think you do. I don't think you ever will. I don't want you to give me pity. I don't want anything from you. And don't worry- I won't give anything to you in return. For I could never give you pain, Michael. Do you know why? It's because… I loved you. And I could never hurt someone who I loved."

* * *

The slap across his face was a loud one. Josh touched his red, burning cheek and stared at Nicole, furiously pushing her away from him. "Why did you do that?" he yelled. She stood there, trembling all over, feeling anger surge up inside of her.

She thought he was nice. She thought he was The One. But she had been wrong. She had been so, so terribly wrong. After insulting the Pants, he had asked about her friends at school. After describing how each and every one of them was wonderful, he had snickered and brushed them away like flies buzzing around his head. He had called Quinn a 'weirdo', Zoey a 'perfectionist' and Dana a 'wannabe'. After all those hurtful remarks, Nicole couldn't keep her anger in any longer. She slapped him across the face inside the store, surrounded by racks of clothing.

"You're a jerk," Nicole said, tears blurring in her eyes. "I can't believe…" She shook her head. "You're not worth my time."

Josh glared at her. "Is this because I made fun of your stupid friends? Nicole, what is your problem? I thought you were above all that. And besides, you wouldn't have this job if it weren't for me."

"Whatever," Nicole said. "I don't care anymore. I quit!" She took her nametag off and threw it on the ground. Then she ran out of the store. Betsy called after her, but she took no notice. Nicole ran and ran and ran. Her feet hit the ground hard as she bolted down the streets, tears running down her cheeks like rivers.

She had quit her well paying job. What was her mother going to do now? How would she be able to get her surgery without the money? Nicole was shaking all over by the time she got home. She called out for her father and then her mother even though she knew that both of them were at the hospital. She wondered what to do with herself now when the telephone rang.

She picked it up on the third ring.

"Hello?" she whispered into the receiver.

There was a strange sound on the other end. It was rather muffled. It sounded like… someone was crying. Nicole felt her heart beat faster. "Hello?" she said, her voice shaking as much as her hand was. "Hello?"

"N-Nicole…"

"Dad… is that you?"

"Nicole… your mother…"

Her fingers were wrapped so tightly over the receiver that they were turning white. "What?"

"Her heart… it's still beating… but…" Her father was having difficulty making sound. He just wanted to break down and sob. "She's not… answering anyone. She's just lying there like… like…"

"Like she's dead," Nicole whispered. She felt herself trembling. Then she dropped the receiver. It clattered against the floor. Heart beating fast, she ran out of the house. She ran as fast as she could down the street until she saw a taxi. She scrambled inside the yellow vehicle and yelled at the driver to go as fast as he could to the hospital. Once they had arrived, she fumbled in her pocket and paid for the ride. She ran out of the taxi and into the hospital, feeling hysterical by that point.

She ran right into a nurse. "Nurse!" she screamed. "Where's my mother? I want to see my mom. Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?"

"Calm down," the nurse said. She examined a clipboard. "What's your mother's name?"

"Bristow…" Nicole said, feeling dizzy. "Last name is Bristow…"

"Oh I'm sorry," the nurse said. "She's in room 310, but no one is allowed to see her right now."

"If I don't see her now I may never be able to see her again!" Nicole yelled. She realized the reality of her words and felt her insides crumple. "I may never see her again…" Before she could break down and cry, she pushed past the nurse and ran down the hallway, looking for room 310. When she found it, she burst through the door to find her mother lying on a bed with her eyes closed.

Nicole walked slowly to where her mother lay. Her legs were shaking. She sat down next to the bed and slowly picked up her mother's hand in hers. Their fingers entwined, the tears started dropping freely down her cheeks.

"Mom…" she whispered. "Mom… I… I don't want you to go."

Her tears stung. They landed on her fingertips. She looked at her mother's pale face and whispered again.

"I don't want you to go."


	11. Sounds Like a Plan

Hey guys! Sorry I'm not updating fast these days. I used to update like every day. Unfortunately, I've literally been buried under homework. I just completed three tests in the past three days and I have three more to go. So wish me luck! Hopefully I won't have a mental breakdown.

* * *

Quinn ran her fingers along the wall as she walked down the hallway. It was an old habit of hers. She wasn't quite sure why she did it. It just seemed to soothe her nerves. And at that moment, she definitely needed soothed nerves. She headed down the stairs to get to her English class. Although she still felt quite weak and ill from her plunge in the ocean, she still needed to keep her grades up and she had studied a bit last night in order to do keep up in class.

As she walked down the stairs, her legs started to feel a little wobbly. She clung on to the banister for support. The nurse had warned her about feeling weak and uncertain for awhile since she had used up so much energy the previous few days. She felt all the blood drain from her face as she suddenly felt herself flying through the air. She had lost balance and was hurtling down the stairs when suddenly… someone caught her in their arms.

"Thanks you," Quinn said, quickly steadying herself and pushing her glasses up her nose. She turned around and saw Michael staring back at her with wide eyes. She blinked at him and suddenly felt even dizzier than she had a few seconds ago.

"Oh… hey," Quinn said, forcing a smile.

"Hey," Michael said, smiling back.

The fake smile plastered on Quinn's face was beginning to hurt her muscles, so she quickly brushed past Michael with a fast, "Okay, then, see you." She began to rush down the hall when Michael quickly turned around and grabbed her arm. She let out a little scream as he twirled her around and enveloped her in his arms.

"Don't go," he said into her hair.

"W-what?" she stammered.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," Michael said, his voice high strung and awkward. "I made a mistake. I never should have let you go. I don't want to let you go. Don't leave me the way I left you, Quinn. Please, give me a second chance. Please… Quinn?"

Quinn just stood there in his arms, frozen in place. "Um…" She was unsure of what to say. Carefully, she pried his fingers loose and slowly pushed him away. "Michael," she said, feeling her heart break all over again. "I…" She blinked her eyes, willing herself not to cry. "I can't."

"Why? Why can't we start again?" Michael was beginning to grow panicky now.

"Because… I…" Quinn shook her head and closed her eyes, taking a big breath. "A girl can only fix her heart so many times, Michael." She smiled a sad smile at him and said, "I think it's time for us to say good bye." The bell rang and she looked at her watch. "I have to go to English. Bye."

She turned on her heel and rushed off. But instead of going to English, she went into the bathroom where she locked herself in a stall. Although she had willed herself not to cry, she now felt tears running down her face like a river- no, a million rivers. She couldn't believe what she had just done. It seemed unreal. She didn't want it to be real. Why was all this happening?

* * *

"Zoey, I have to go to the bathroom and fix my make up before class starts."

Zoey glanced at her watch just as the bell rang. She looked over at Dana and said, "Okay, I'll go with you. But you better be fast. The bell just rang and we have to be in class in about two minutes."

Dana nodded and the two girls walked into the bathroom. Dana stood in front of the mirror and fixed her eye make up as Zoey leaned against the sinks and waited for her. Then they both heard a soft sniffing sound and they exchanged glances. Zoey looked over at the only stall door that was closed and hesitantly walked towards it. She rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Hello?" she said uncertainly.

There was a pause. "Z-Zoey?" a faint voice said from behind the stall door.

Zoey looked at Dana, panic in her eyes. "Dana, it's Quinn," she said. She knocked harder on the door. "Quinn, it's me. It's Zoey. Open up… Quinn? Please, open up. Quinn? Quinn?"

The stall door slowly opened to reveal a red faced, tear stained Quinn. Zoey and Dana took one look at their friend and felt their hearts shatter. Seeing one of their sisters in so much pain was unbearable. Zoey silently reached out and hugged Quinn as Dana said, "Oh Quinn," and joined in on the hug.

As soon as the arms of her friends wrapped around her, Quinn erupted into a fresh load of tears. "I… I… I could have started again," she said, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "I could have started again, but I chose not to. What is wrong w-with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you!" Dana cried rubbing Quinn's back in what she hoped was a soothing matter. "You did the right thing, Quinn."

"No, I didn't," Quinn said miserably between her tears.

"You know what," Zoey said, unraveling herself from the arms of her friends. "I know what will make us all feel better." She smiled. "Break is coming up in three days. We have a week of no classes. We can arrange a trip to go visit Nicole!"

Dana grinned. "Yeah, that'd be great! I miss seeing her, you know?" All three of them nodded. Zoey handed some tissues to Quinn who wiped her eyes. She blew her nose and then smiled a big smile.

"Yes," she said. "Visiting Nicole might make me feel better."

"We'll go and surprise her," Zoey said. "She'll be so happy to see us."

"And we'll be happy to see her too." Dana smiled and three girls walked arm in arm out of the bathroom, teary eyed and heading for the class that they were very, very late for.

* * *

Okay you guys. I'm sorry for the fairly short chapter, but I promise you the next one will be better! Or, you know, hopefully it will be better. Your comments, feedback, and thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thanks lots!

(ohmygosh. you will never guess what i did. i accidentally updated this chapter on to the first sisterhood of the travelling pants story > sorry about the mistake!)


	12. On the Plane

"I'll miss you, Zoey."

"I'll miss you too, Chase, but it's only for a week. I'll see you soon!"

Zoey and Chase stood outside room 101 and hugged each other good bye. Spring break had finally arrived and Zoey had a plane to catch. After much planning and hectic packing, she and the other girls had created a way to go see Nicole. It was going to be a surprise visit- they were so eager to see the look on Nicole's face when she saw them!

"Have a safe trip," Chase said, kissing Zoey on the forehead.

Zoey smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I'm sure I will."

* * *

Logan watched as Dana crammed the last of her shirts into her already stuffed suitcase. He smiled at the way her hair was a mess and how she ran around the room like a crazed monkey. Seeing her so busy and panicked made him laugh. He reached over and tapped Dana on the shoulder, making her jump.

"You scared me!" she cried, putting a hand over the place where her heart was.

He laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. "It's going to be a lonely week," he said. "You know… without you here to cuddle with me."

Dana laughed and pulled herself away from Logan. "Well," she said. "I'm glad to know that you'll be happy to see me come back!" She grinned as she zipped her suitcase shut. She then glanced at her watch and said, "I got to go catch a taxi with Zoey and Quinn." She walked over to the door and then paused. "I'll… miss you somewhat."

"Only somewhat?" Logan said, pouting. "I'll be missing you all the time."

"Quit being so sappy," Dana said, pretending to be disgusted. She leaned over and gave Logan a quick kiss on the cheek. "You'll see me in a week," she said. "Until then!"

* * *

Quinn fell asleep in the taxi during the long ride to the airport. She only awoke when the taxi started traveling along an extremely bumpy road and her glasses started to slide off the end of her nose. She yawned and stretched her arms in the cramped space. Zoey smirked at her.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," she said. "You're awake, I see."

Quinn smiled and nodded her head as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Dana looked out the window and said, "Hey! We're here!" The taxi driver pulled up to the airport entrance and quickly got out of the car to unload the trunk.

After paying the taxi driver, the girls entered the air conditioned airport and wondered where they had to go to catch their flight. After an entire hour of wandering around and stopping at the gift store to look at the merchandise there, they finally boarded their plane. Much to their delight, they didn't have to wait very long to get their seats.

Quinn flipped through her Science notebook while Zoey and Dana looked through their magazines. They were starting to get a bit restless when finally a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Please put on your seatbelts," the voice said. "We are about to take off."

After only an hour of flying, Zoey and Dana had put away their magazines and fallen asleep. Quinn, however, stayed awake. After completing several Science equations (for fun, of course) she turned her MP3 Player on and started to listen to some music.

While she had her headphones on, she didn't hear someone calling her name, until they were practically shouting into her face. She quickly yanked an ear phone out of her ear and turned her head to face the person who was sitting behind her. "Yes?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"I dropped my reading glasses and they slid under your seat," the person said. He smiled wearily. "Will you please retrieve them for me?"

"Oh… sure…"

Quinn bent down as far as she could and moved her hand along on the floor, feeling around for the glasses. She couldn't find them. She straightened up and turned her head to face the boy. "I can't find them," she said flatly. "Sorry."

"Please look again," the boy said.

"Look…" Quinn sighed heavily. Due to all the previous events in the past few weeks, she was not in the mood to look around the floor, trying to find glasses that a random stranger had dropped. "Look for it yourself!" she snapped.

"Please… help me!"

"No!"

"Please?"

"NO!"

"But they're right under your seat…"

"NO. DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY IT IN FRENCH? BECAUSE I WILL IF YOU WANT ME TO!"

Quinn had turned around all the way in her seat and was giving the boy a sharp glare. He stared back at her, his eyes wide with fear. He looked so terrified that Quinn had to smile a little. He took that as a good sign and smiled back.

"I'm Martin. You?"

"I'm Quinn." She stuck her hand out. "Nice to meet you."

They shook hands.

* * *

Hey guys it's me again Okay… I've had a million and one tests (no lie) and on top of all that, I lost my glasses and I've been having problems with various newspapers. So I hope you'll forgive me for yet another short and not very good chapter :( I promise you… one day I will give you a chapter that will make up for it all! I hope I still have some readers even though it takes me forever to update. Once again I apologize for that. I really am sorry. I hope one day I'll make it up to you!


	13. Ding Dong

_Ding dong._

Zoey's finger pressed against the doorbell. A loud ringing sound filled the air. Dana frowned and slapped her hands over her ears to block out the noise. They stood on the doorstep for a couple of minutes before Zoey reached out to ring the doorbell again. Before she could, however, Dana reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Why don't you just knock?" she suggested. "That doorbell will seriously make me go deaf."

Zoey nodded her head and rapped her knuckles against the door. Dana sighed and plopped herself down on the doorstep to rest her legs. After they had gotten off the plane, they had caught a taxi to Nicole's house. They had her address written down on a slip of paper so they knew where they were going. Quinn had been extremely quiet ever since they had gotten off the plane. She seemed to be lost in thought and Zoey and Dana didn't question her about it.

"Maybe she's out," Zoey noted, turning to face her friends.

"What do we do now?" Dana said, frowning.

Before anyone could answer, the door creaked open and a small trembling voice whispered, "Who is it?"

"Nicole?" Quinn said in surprise. She had expected Nicole to greet them by squealing and jumping up and down. Quinn peered through her glasses to stare at her friend. It seemed as if all the energy had been sucked out of her and all that was left was a great cloud of sadness hanging over her head.

Nicole blinked at her friends. "I must be hallucinating," she said out loud. "There's no way Zoey, Dana, and Quinn can be standing on my doorstep right now."

"Nicole," Dana said in a shaky voice. "It's really us." She felt scared that Nicole looked so… dead. Her hair hung limply on her shoulders and her cheeks were sunken in. Dana reached out and took one of Nicole's hands in hers. "It's really us," she said again.

Nicole looked extremely frightened and pried her fingers loose from Dana's. She turned to Zoey and said, "Zo? Is that you? Is it really… you?"

Tears filled Zoey's eyes. "Oh my God," she said in a trembling voice. "What happened to you? You're not Nicole Bristow! What have you done with her?"

Nicole shrunk bank, her eyes wide. "W-what?" she stammered. "What are you talking about? I'm Nicole Bristow and this is my house. You three are strangers to me. P-please leave…"

She began to close the door on them, but Dana stuck her foot out, causing the door to slam against her toes. "Wait," she said, grimacing in pain. "We're not strangers to you, Nicole! Look… you're wearing the Pants." She pointed to the jeans Nicole was wearing. They seemed unusually darker than usual.

"You know about the Pants?" Nicole said, her eyes widening. "How?"

"I'm telling you, I'm Dana!" Dana yelled. "And if you don't believe it, I'll beat you with your hair dryer until you get it through your head that it's really us standing on your doorstep!"

Nicole blinked at each girl in turn, her eyes wide with fear and shock. Then, suddenly, she lunged forward and pulled Dana into an enormous hug. "Dana!" she sobbed, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she started to cry. "I can't believe it's really you!" She let go of Dana, her cheeks stained with tears. She pulled Quinn into an equally large hug and then went for Zoey.

"What's happened to you?" Zoey whispered when Nicole had finally let go of her.

"What do you mean?" Nicole said, wiping away her tears.

"You look positively… dead," Zoey said. Nicole flinched at the word.

"Will you let us in?" Quinn asked softly. "We have loads to tell you."

Nicole slowly nodded her head and opened the door wider, allowing her friends to step inside. They took a look around Nicole's house, frowning at what they saw. The blinds were shut so no light could pass through the windows. The walls looked dark and gloomy and the atmosphere of the house wasn't a pleasant one. Zoey was the first to speak after a long silence.

"Where are you parents, Nicole?" she asked.

Lip trembling, Nicole murmured, "They're… out."

Quinn turned to look at her. She frowned and said, "Out where?"

A defeated look crossed Nicole's face as she mumbled, "They're at the hospital."

"Oh… Nicole…"

Zoey was the first to pull Nicole into a tight, comforting hug. Dana and Quinn joined in, allowing Nicole to cry quietly, staining their shirts. They stood that way for a long time, allowing Nicole to drop the weight she had been holding on her shoulders for such a long time. Her friends were with her now. They were all together again.

* * *

Sorry for the not very long chapters and the not so frequent updates. I've been having writer's block when it comes to this story. But never fear- I'm going to finish it! Thanks to everyone who takes time to read my story Thank you so, so, so much! 


	14. Catching Up

The four girls stretched out on their backs outside in Nicole's backyard. They lay in the grass in a single row, with Quinn and Dana on the edges and Zoey and Nicole squished between them. They stared up into the blue sky, sighing contently.

A long, comfortable silence wafted in the air for awhile. They just lay there, enjoying the moment they had together. Finally, after a long time of appreciating the silence, Zoey said, "PCA isn't the same without you, Nicole, I must admit. It's really…" She paused. "It's really different."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed, sighing and blinking up at the clouds from behind her square rimmed glasses. "It really isn't the same without you. When are you going to come back, Nicole?"

Nicole shifted uncomfortably in the grass. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I mean, with my mom in the hospital I don't really know what's going to happen. And it's just… it's just weird to think that I might not… have a mom soon."

Her voice cracked when she spoke. Dana looked over at her with a sympathetic look flicking in her eyes. "Oh, Nicole," she murmured. "Don't worry about it. It'll all be ok." She paused and ran her fingers through the long blades of grass. "Do you still have the Pants?" she said after a moment of silence.

Nicole smiled and slowly rose herself up to her feet. She went back into the house and came out a minute later, holding a pair of folded up jeans in her arms. Zoey, Quinn, and Dana all sat up to stare at the Pants- _their _pants.

"Oh wow…" Zoey breathed, taking the Pants from Nicole and letting the fabric rub against her skin. "It feels like forever since I've seen these…"

"I know what you mean," Dana agreed, her eyes glued to the large nail polish stain splattered across the front of the jeans. "Wow."

Quinn sighed and rubbed her cheek with her palm. "It's been a long time since we started our Sisterhood. Do you remember? How we snuck out after lights out and stood in a circle, holding hands…"

Nicole laughed, tears slipping out of her eyes. "Of course I remember."

Zoey hugged the Pants to her chest before passing them along to Quinn so she could enjoy the fragrance of the fabric. They all sat in silence for awhile, admiring the magical Pants and passing them along.

"Why are you crying?" Dana asked Nicole who was silently wiping her tears away.

"It's just that…" Nicole paused to catch her breath. "It feels so unreal, having you guys here… with me."

"Oh, Nicole," Quinn said sadly. "We'll _always _be with you. Gosh, I'm surprised you don't know that by now!" She laughed and leaned over to pull Nicole into a comforting hug. Nicole laughed, sputtering a bit as she did so. Dana and Zoey giggled.

"Okay, time to stop being so cheesy," Zoey said, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's all update each other on our lives. I feel like we haven't really 'talked' in a long time, don't you? Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Quinn volunteered. She cleared her throat, and sighed dramatically for effect. "Nicole, you don't know this, but I'm not with Michael anymore."

Nicole gasped. "But things were going so well for you two!"

Quinn nodded her head. "Yeah," she said. "It was. But then I found out he was cheating on me and going out with that girl… Tammy Ale. Do you know her?"

Nicole gasped again. "Not Tammy Ale!"

Quinn nodded her head again. "Yes, Tammy Ale."

Dana cleared her throat. "Er, sorry to interrupt, but I have to add something in. When Logan broke up with me, it was because Tammy Ale threatened to hurt me if he didn't stay away from me. And she was only going out with Michael to get closer to Logan."

There was a long silence in the air. Now everyone knew the truth. Everything was out in the open, flying around for anyone to catch and gobble up in their mouths.

"Wow," Nicole breathed after awhile. "I never thought Tammy would do such a thing."

Zoey sighed and shrugged. "It just goes to show, doesn't it?"

Nicole nodded. Quinn continued on with her story. "Michael wants me to take him back, but I don't think I can. And besides, I met this guy on the airplane…"

"What?" Zoey's eyes nearly fell out of her head. "You didn't tell us about this!"

"Well, his name's Martin and-"

"Is he hot?" Nicole interrupted. "How rosy are his cheeks? How tall is he? How full are his lips? Pleaseeee don't keep me in suspense!"

They all laughed out loud. Zoey smirked and said, "Well, the real Nicole is finally coming back I see."

* * *

Hey all - Sorry for the majorly short chapters and the majorly LONG wait for an update.  
I'm sorry  
I'm sorry  
I'm sorry  
And continue that on for about a million more times. Anyways, yeah, I hope I haven't lost any of my readers. To all who take time to read and review- thanks so much! I appreciate it a lot :)


	15. Surgery

It was late. Zoey, Dana, and Quinn all lay on the floor of Nicole's living room, sleeping soundly while bundled up in thick, cotton blankest. Quinn was snoring softly as Dana murmured random words in her sleep. Zoey slept quietly, but would occasionally roll over to make herself more comfortable.

Nicole couldn't sleep. She sat on the couch with her knees curled up under her chin. She was staring at the clock on the wall, watching the hands tick slowly forward. It was 2:00 AM. She didn't feel the least bit tired.

Zoey, Dana, and Quinn were going to go find a hotel to say at, but Nicole insisted they stay with her. She knew her parents wouldn't mind. Nicole sighed. Her parents… She wondered how they were doing. Was her mother feeling better? How was her father holding up? She wished she could be there with them.

Fragile tears began to slide down her cheeks and she buried her head in her knees, trying to stifle her sniffs. The thought of her parents made her choke up and want to crawl under her bed and stay there forever. Any place in the world would be better than here. Any place at all…

"Nicole?" Zoey's groggy voice made its way into Nicole's ears. "What are you doing? Why aren't you asleep?"

Nicole quickly wiped away her tears and faced Zoey the best she could in the dark. "Oh, hey Zo," she said, her voice cracking. "I just came downstairs to see how well you guys were sleeping. And it looks like you're sleeping fine so I'm going to go back to my room now and-"

"Hold on," Zoey said, slowing stumbling out from under her blankets and coming over to the couch where Nicole was sitting. "I know something's wrong. Tell me what's bugging you. It'll make you feel better."

"Really?" Nicole said, her eyes growing misty again.

Zoey nodded her head. "Uh huh. And if it doesn't, you can beat me in the head with a baseball bat five times. That'll make you feel better, right?"

Nicole laughed. "Make it seven times and you've got a deal."

"Six and a half," Zoey said. She flopped down on the couch beside Nicole and slung her arm around her best friend. "Now will you tell me what's wrong? I hate seeing you so sad… it tears me apart."

Nicole sighed and slowly rubbed her eyes with her hands. "I'm just… worried," she said, fumbling for the right words. "I don't know how everything's going to turn out, you know? I mean, it was all so good back when I went to PCA and my mom wasn't sink and…"

She couldn't go on. She felt her throat clog up and her breath catch. Zoey looked at Nicole, sympathy in her eyes. She leaned over and the two friends embraced. Allowing Nicole to rest her head against her shoulder, Zoey comfortingly patted her on the back and said reassuring things like, "Don't worry, it'll all be ok… don't cry. Everything will work out in the end."

"But how do you know?" Nicole sobbed into Zoey's shoulder. "How do you know everything will work out in the end?"

Zoey didn't say anything for awhile. Then she smiled and said in the softest voice she could, "I don't know. But I'm praying that everything will work out and we have to believe when we pray. So even though I don't know for sure… I'm hoping. And hoping is all we can do right now, isn't it?"

Nicole closed her eyes, tears running uncontrollably down her cheeks. "I have enough money," she whispered. "I counted yesterday. I have enough money for my mom's surgery. But I'm so scared. So damned scared that she won't make it."

"Nicole," Zoey said, staring into her friend's tear streaked face. "How about we go visit your parents tomorrow? I'm sure they'd both be pleased to see you. Huh? How about it?" She paused. "You think you're up for it?"

She didn't speak. A few moments later, her eyelids fluttered open and she mumbled, "Yes. I'd like that very much."

* * *

The next morning, after a quick breakfast of cereal, the four girls caught a taxi and arrived at the hospital at quarter after eleven. They entered through the automatic sliding doors and made their way to room 310 where Nicole knew her mother was staying.

They walked down the hallways, all of them holding their breath. They reached the door to room 310. Nicole carefully took the cold doorknob in her hands and turned it. The door squeaked open and they stepped into the room, cautiously looking around.

It was empty.

"Mom?" Nicole called out, her voice cracking. "Mother? Mommy?"

She bit her lip when she realized that no one was going to reply. No one was there. The room had been emptied out.

"Maybe… she switched rooms," Dana said, her eyes darting around the room nervously. "Uh… let's go ask one of the nurses. They'll know where your mom is. C'mon, let's go." She quickly walked out of the room.

They made their way down the hallways once again and walked down to the first floor where they ran into a nurse with a clipboard. Nicole stopped her in her tracks and began to speak in a panicked voice.

"Excuse me," she said. "But my mother- Mrs. Karen Bristow- was in room 310 and I just went to visit her and she isn't there. Has she been switched to another room or…?"

"Oh, yes, Mrs. Bristow!" the nurse said, snapping her fingers. "She went into surgery this morning."

"Surgery?" Nicole repeated. The nurse nodded her head before briskly walking away.

Nicole turned to face Zoey, Dana, and Quinn who all had terrified expressions on their faces. "Surgery," she whispered. With no make up on and her hair a frazzled mess, Nicole collapsed to the ground and brought her trembling hands up to her face. "Surgery," she sobbed as tears began to form in her eyes. "Surgery."

"Nicole, it's ok," Quinn said, feeling her heart break at the sight of her miserable friend. She bent down next to Nicole and embraced her in her arms. "She'll make it. Your mother is tough… it'll all be ok. Okay?"

"Surgery," Nicole bawled into Quinn's shoulder. "H-how? W-what if she doesn't… How could this…?"

"Don't worry Nicole… it'll be ok."

Dana and Zoey also pulled her into their embrace so the four of them were merely a heap on the ground. They comforted her and patted her on the back and tried to get her to stop crying, but she wouldn't- no, she couldn't. Zoey, Dana, and Quinn stayed on the hospital floor, trying to make a broken Nicole feel better.


	16. Hello Pants

_Please God…if you're out there, please hear me. Please, please save my mother. I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't get through surgery. I don't know if I can live without her. I just…I can't imagine life without her by my side. So please save her, God, I beg you. Please, please…I'll be so good if she gets through it alive. I'll do all my chores and if I ever go back to PCA, I'll do my homework right away and…I don't know, God, I'll do anything. Just please…help my mother get through this._

Zoey, Dana, and Quinn watched with sad eyes as Nicole crumpled to her knees and clasped her hands together with her thumbs crossed. She prayed with tears running down her cheeks and her eyes squeezed shut in pain and utter sadness. The people that passed her either gave her sympathetic looks or mumbled something about freaks these days.

"C'mon you guys," Zoey said quietly, tugging on Dana and Quinn's arm. "We have to go help her. I've never seen her so... depressed." She sighed lightly and felt her own tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "We have to go help her."

"How are we going to do that?" Quinn asked. She could barely look at Nicole without having her heart shatter into a million pieces. "She seems beyond sad and we're not professionals. How can we possibly help her?"

"We're her friends," Zoey said. "And we have to comfort her somehow."

Dana snapped her fingers and turned to face Zoey and Quinn with wide eyes. "I know exactly what'll help her. But I have to go back to Nicole's house to get it. Do you have the spare key she gave us?"

Zoey nodded and pulled a copy of Nicole's house key from her pocket. When they had arrived, Nicole had given it to them to use in case of emergencies. And now would be considered an emergency. Dana dug through her bag and pulled out a wad of cash which she explained would get her a taxi. She grabbed the key out of Zoey's hand and said, "I'll be back." Then she rushed away and out the sliding hospital doors.

"Come on, Quinn," Zoey said, pulling on Quinn's arm again. "We have to go help her somehow. Please don't tell me a super genius like you doesn't know how to make someone feel better."

Quinn felt tears slip down her cheeks as she faced Zoey. She trembled all over as she spoke. "I'm afraid I'll make it worse. Look at how fragile she is right now! One wrong word and we could make her collapse."

"I don't want to just stand here and watch her suffer!" Zoey yelled, also starting to cry from the pain she felt. "I have to go help her." She walked away from Quinn and over to Nicole who was still sitting on the ground, praying and crying her heart out. Zoey sat down beside her and grabbed one of her hands, making her open her eyes and see her friend sitting beside her.

"Zoey?" Nicole said, her lower lip trembling with fear.

"It'll be alright, Nicole," Zoey said, smiling comfortingly. "I'm going to be by your side and I'm going to pray with you until your mother is all better, ok? And you can cry on my shoulder any time you want. I'll be here."

"Me too," Quinn said, walking toward them and sitting down on Nicole's other side. She smiled, even as tears ran down her face like a rushing waterfall. She grabbed Nicole's other hand and said again, "Me too."

Nicole smiled a genuine smile of pure gratitude. "Thank you guys," she whispered, squeezing both their hands. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

"Will you please drive faster? This is an emergency!" Dana sat in the back seat of the yellow taxi, tapping her fingers against the glass and letting out loud sighs of utter distress as the taxi driver drove as fast as he could over to Nicole's house.

When they had finally reached her house, Dana threw the car door open and ran out, yelling behind her shoulder, "Stay right there! You have to drive me back to the hospital so don't go anywhere!"

She used the spare key to open the front door. After successfully getting into her house, Dana ran up the stairs and tore into Nicole's bedroom where she flung open her closet and rummaged through for awhile before finding what she was looking for.

"Yes," she breathed, her eyes wide and her heart beating extra fast. She ran out of the house, locked the front door, and practically threw herself back into the taxi. "Step on it!" she yelled. "Back to the hospital as fast as you can!"

* * *

Zoey took a minute to open her eyes and wipe her tears away. When she did, she saw Dana running towards them, holding a special something in her hands. Full of excitement, she tapped Nicole and Quinn frantically on the arm and said, "Look! Dana's back!"

They both opened their eyes and turned their heads to see Dana running towards them, out of breath. She halted before them and smiled before presenting to them… the Pants. Zoey, Nicole, and Quinn all sucked in their breath. They had almost forgotten about the Pants. It was still the same with the nail polish stain and the comfortable look it had written all over it.

"The Pants," Nicole breathed, reaching out to touch the tender fabric.

"Wear them," Dana said, holding them out for Nicole to take.

"Me?" Nicole looked at Dana with wide eyes, then over at Zoey and Quinn who both nodded their heads in agreement. "Why me?"

"You need them," Dana said simply, smiling and letting the Pants fall into Nicole's hands.

Nicole held the Pants against herself for a moment, letting its energy flow through her. Then she smiled and said, "Thanks, you guys. For… everything and a half."

"What's the half for?" Quinn asked.

"You guys are my everything and the Pants add a half to that," Nicole explained, drying her tears the best she could. Then she smiled and went to go change into the Pants. Zoey, Dana, and Quinn all exchanged looks of happiness. Maybe things would turn out ok after all. They really, really hoped so.


	17. Cans

"I miss Dana."

Chase rolled over on his bed to face Logan. "What?"

"I said I miss Dana," Logan repeated, giving Chase a look. "Are you deaf or something? And I'm surprised you're not crying over Zoey or anything. I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to survive without her."

"Me? Cry?" Chase laughed and rolled his eyes. "Please."

"You're dying inside, aren't you?"

Chase frowned and nodded his head. "Uh huh. Is it obvious?"

Logan walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out two soda cans. He threw one to Chase before opening his own. After taking a long drink he collapsed on his bed and let out a loud groan. After a few minutes of silence, he said, "Well… what do you want to do?"

"Homework?" Chase suggested, sitting up on his bed and holding up his math textbook. "We have a test next week."

"You're kidding, right?" Logan rolled his eyes and threw his empty soda can at Chase's head. "It's spring break and you want to do homework? What does Zoey see in you?" He stood up and grabbed his jacket, heading out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Chase asked, attempting to throw the can back at Logan, only to miss and hit the wall instead.

"Out," Logan said breezily. He opened the door and was about to step out when he grinned and turned. "By the way- you have nice aim." Laughing, he slammed the door shut, leaving Chase alone with his math textbook.

"Yeah, well… so do you!" Chase yelled after him, realizing afterward what a lame thing he had said. Lying back down on his back, he covered his face with his hands and groaned. "I'm so BORED…"

The door opened and Chase immediately sat back up. Michael walked into the room, drinking a can of Coke. "Hey, man," he said, grinning. "What's up?"

"The ceiling, the sky, the stars… my head?" Chase lay his head back down on the pillow, realizing that the only exercise he had been getting these days was lying down and then sitting back up. He wondered if maybe that could be an Olympic sport.

"You look like you're having fun," Michael said, nodding his head and grabbing his mp3. He sat down on Logan's bed and removed his shoes.

"Well, you look happy," Chase pointed out after Michael had taken off his shoes and socks. "Weren't you really depressed about… everything that's been going on lately?"

"Yeah," Michael admitted. "But I decided that the past is the past and now I should worry about the future. I mean, I shouldn't get this upset over some girl… right? Right, Chase? Please tell me I'm right."

"You're right."

"Good," Michael said, smiling broadly. "I knew I was."

He lay down on Logan's bed and stretched. Chase could see how wet his shirt was and asked, "Did you take a shower with your clothes on or did it rain while you were outside?"

"I was playing some intense basketball," Michael said, finishing his drink.

"A little bit too intense," Chase said, nodding his head.

Michael shrugged. "Whatev-"

The door opened and Logan stepped back in, frowning. "I left my wallet here. Anyone know where it is?" He glanced over at Michael and stopped in his tracks. "Why are you lying on my bed with wet clothes on?"

"Too lazy to get in my bed," Michael said, motioning to the bunk bed. "And they're not wet clothes… they're just kind of… sweaty?"

A horrified look crossing his face, Logan paled and said, "Get off. Right now."

"Aw, Logan, I'm so comfortable…" he said, making puppy dog eyes at his friend. "Please Logan… just for five minutes?"

"No, you sick kid, get off!" Logan ran towards him, as if he was going to pull him off the bed by force. Michael screamed and threw the soda can at him. He quickly ducked and the can bounced off of Chase's head.

"Agh!" Chase yelled, rubbing his head and grabbing the can off the floor. "You guys! That's twice I got hit with a can today! Is today 'Everybody Hit Chase in the Head with a Soda Can' day?"

"Sorry, Chase, what did you just say?" Michael rolled off the bed, dodging Logan by a millisecond.

Tightening his fingers around the can, he hurled it toward Logan and Michael. The can bounced off of Logan's nose and hit Michael in the head. They both turned toward Chase with anger expressions in their eyes.

"You are so dead."


	18. One Smile

It felt as if her entire existence had been erased from the world. She didn't feel like she was alive anymore. She was just… there. A breathing lump of worry, waiting outside her mother's room in the hospital… that was what she was. She didn't like it. She tried hard to remember the person she used to be, the Nicole that had gotten everyone's attention with her loud voice and bubbly statements. A thin smile slid across her face as she remembered the Nicole that had dressed so carefully every day, wearing only the cutest clothes.

She checked to see what she wearing now. The old blue whale t-shirt she was sporting didn't seem like something she would wear, or even touch, but under the circumstances, she had simply thrown on the first thing she'd seen and rushed out. And of course… she was wearing the Pants. She felt a warm sense of security when she saw the Pants with the large nail polish stain on the front. They made her feel like she could live again… maybe.

"Hey, Nicole… how are you doing?"

She glanced up wearily to see Zoey walking towards her, holding a cup of coffee. She attempted to smile, but she was sure it came out forced and twisted. Zoey sat beside her and sympathetically rubbed her back, handing her the coffee.

"Oh, Nicole, it'll be ok…" she soothed, praying that it actually would be ok and that her words wouldn't turn out to be hollow later. "You've cried your eyes out already and I'm sure you have no tears left. So drink the coffee. You need warm fluids in you. Okay?" She paused. "It'll be ok, Nicole. I promise you."

She didn't say anything. She only sipped the thick, creamy coffee and hoped that Zoey was right. A single thought buzzed through her mind as she forced the hot liquid down her throat. _How can you possibly promise something like that? You don't know how things will turn out. You don't know…_

She heard footsteps. Lifting her head up, she saw Quinn walking toward them, holding a bagel in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. She sat down on the other side of Nicole and handed her the bagel. "You need some food in you," she said. "Now eat up, okay?" Smiling a strained smile, she pressed the milk into Nicole's hand as well.

Everything seemed unreal. It was like a dream where time slowed down and you were trapped in one place forever. By the time Dana came over with a bar of chocolate, Nicole felt like she was drowning. She wasn't sure how much more she could take before she finally exploded. It was too much… too much…

The door to Mrs. Bristow's room swung open, startling Dana and making Quinn accidentally knock over the carton of milk. Zoey gripped on to Nicole's hand, who felt like her heart was going to run right out of her chest. She stood up and tried to find her voice. It came out strangely strangled and hoarse.

"Is she…?"

She couldn't say it. Her words got lost in her throat. Biting down on her lip, she stared at the doctor who stood before them. He smiled. There was something in his smile that told us everything we needed to know. His smile was weary, but proud. It was pleased and also amazed. And most of all, it was happy.

"She's perfectly fine," he said. "She's just resting now. You can see her in an hour or so." He smiled again before turning on his heel and walking down the polished hallway. Several other nurses and doctors walked out of the room, all of them looking satisfied.

Nicole felt like little pieces of her existence was flying back to her. She looked first at Zoey, then at Dana, and finally at Quinn. She could see her reflection in Quinn's glasses. Her face was one of utter relief and amazement.

"Oh… wow," Zoey breathed. She was still holding Nicole's hand.

Her happiness couldn't be described in words. Nicole felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted up off her shoulders and thrown into space. She felt emotion run through her, only this time, the emotions were good. They were happy. They were light and care free. She reached out and pulled her friends into a giant hug.

"You guys…" Nicole whispered into their shoulders. For the first time in a long while, her voice came out strong and confident. "She's going to be ok." A little cry came out from her throat. "Thank you for being there for me."

Dana swore and started crying again, letting her tears soak her cheeks. Quinn laughed and hugged her, tears rolling down her face as well. Zoey smiled at Nicole, a smile that seemed to say everything and more. Nicole smiled back. It was a genuine smile, one that she hadn't shown anyone in days.


	19. Back Again

Spring break was over. It was time to go back to PCA. On their final night at Nicole's house, Zoey, Dana, and Quinn baked cookies to celebrate. Celebrate the health of Mrs. Bristow, the happiness of Nicole, and reuniting the Sisterhood for at least a little while.

They sat in a circle in Nicole's living room, eating cookies and discussing… whatever they could think of. Nicole told them that her mother was going to rest in the hospital for a day or so more before coming back home and that her father would also stay with her. Zoey and Dana talked about Chase and Logan while Quinn said something about a new opening at the Coconut Tree House.

They stayed up the entire night just talking. By the time the sun rose, they were all exhausted. Zoey, Dana, and Quinn packed their bags for their early morning flight as Nicole folded up the Pants and dumped them in a giant Ziploc bag.

"Here, you guys," she said. "Take these back to PCA and live some good moments in them."

"What's with the bag?" Dana asked.

Nicole shrugged her shoulders. "It needs some sort of protection, don't you think?"

When it was time for them to say their good byes, more tears were shed. Quinn took her glasses off because they were fogging over. The three of them boarded the taxi to the airport as Nicole stood outside her house and waved them off, yelling, "Write lots of letters! And maybe I'll come back to PCA soon! Don't miss me too much, okay?"

By the time they got to the airport, they had nearly missed their flight. Fortunately, they managed to board safely. They were out of breath by the time they sat down, but they boarded nonetheless. Exhausted from staying up the whole night, Zoey and Dana immediately fell asleep as soon as the airplane lifted off the ground. Quinn, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. She never slept on airplanes for some reason.

She was writing in her science log when somebody tapped her on the shoulder. She looked behind her to see a familiar face. Her jaw dropped. "Martin, is that you?"

"Quinn," he said, smiling broadly. "I thought it was you! I'm glad you remember me!"

"What are you doing on this plane?" Quinn asked.

"Well, I go to school in California and I just went to Kansas over spring break to visit my family," he explained.

Quinn looked surprise. "Wow, that's a coincidence. I go to school in California too, only I went to Kansas to visit a friend." She paused. "What school do you go to?"

"Bowling Pins School," he said. "BPS for short… the school really has nothing to do with bowling, so I don't know where it got its name. But anyways, I'm transferring to a school called Pacific Coast Academy next year. Do you know where that is?"

"Oh, my gosh, I go there!" Quinn exclaimed. "This is so exciting. Meeting on the plane twice in a row, that's crazy fate right there. And now you're coming to my school… that's just amazing."

"It is a little odd." Martin smiled and then he snapped his fingers. He dug around in his bag and pulled out a bag of pink cotton candy. "You want some?"

"I thought food wasn't allowed on the airplanes," Quinn said.

Martin shrugged. "Cotton candy isn't really food. It's more like…"

"A sugary substance that melts in your mouth," Quinn said, grinning. She took a handful of cotton candy. "Thanks."

The two of them talked for the rest of the plane ride. They exchanged phone numbers and promised to stay in touch and meet up at PCA when September started. By the time the plane landed, they were pretty much good friends.

Quinn shook Zoey and Dana awake and the three of them got off the plane and stood in the large airport, wondering how they would get back to PCA. They decided to call a taxi. Just as Zoey got her cell phone out, somebody grabbed Dana from behind.

She screamed and turned around to face none other than Logan who was hugging her tightly in his arms, yelling, "Danaaaaa! I missed you so much!" He paused. "Well, not that much… cause if I missed you a lot than that wouldn't be very guyish of me, would it?"

Chase was there too ready to pull Zoey into his arms. Quinn stood off to the side, feeling a little bit lonely. Her arms ached to hold someone too. But then she thought of Martin and smiled. It was definitely fate that they had met. If they had crossed paths twice, then she was sure they'd meet again.


	20. The End

Life back at PCA went by quickly. Homework, late night movies, and letters from Nicole took up most of the girls' time. And of course, Zoey had Chase to look after and Dana had Logan to hit over the head whenever he did something bad and Quinn had Martin to instant message on her computer.

They were happy. They were content. And best of all, so was Nicole. She was happily at home with her parents, getting ready to come back to PCA when the new school year started in September. Then they would all reunite once more.

On the last day of school before summer vacation, Zoey, Dana, and Quinn went out to the beach with the Pants. They sat down on the sand in a circle, the blue jeans placed in the center. Zoey smiled and touched the large nail polish stain on the front.

"It's amazing what an article of clothing can do for us, huh?" she murmured.

"Yeah," Dana said, grinning. "Amazing."

Quinn took a deep breath as she played with a handful of sand. "So who's going to keep them over summer vacation?"

Zoey picked up the Pants and slowly folded them. She handed them to Quinn. "Here," she said. "They belong at your house when we're not using them. After all… you invented them."

Dana grinned and nodded her head. "Yeah. I agree."

Quinn smiled widely and took the Pants from Zoey. "Thanks," she said quietly.

The three of them stood up and went back to the school after that. They knew that even though their year together was over and they would spend two whole months away from each other, they would meet again in September to start their new adventures with their Pants and also, with Nicole.

And they couldn't wait.

* * *

hello everyone :)  
so this is the end of the second semester of the sisterhood  
im sorry it took me so long to update all the time  
and also- im sorry that this story was so terrible   
i got so lazy in the middle of it  
and then when i got around to writing it  
i forgot what happened in the last chapter and  
well anyways. im sorry this was so bad :(  
im considering writing a third story about their sisterhood  
but im not sure, what do you think?  
anyways. thank you soso much for reading 


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